Parents charged in connection with 9-year-old's death, gun lock in home went unused

MILWAUKEE -- (WITI) -- The parents of nine-year-old Miyanna Jelks have been charged in connection with her death on Saturday, March 10. The accused are 32-year-old Marcel Jelks and 29-year-old Talisha Lee.

The two face the following criminal charges:

Child neglect (resulting in death) as a party to a crime, habitual criminality repeater (Jelks)

Possession of a firearm by a felon, habitual criminality repeater (Jelks)

According to the criminal complaint, Jelks and Lee pulled up at the emergency room of St. Joseph’s Hospital shortly after noon on Saturday, March 10. They had Miyanna with them — and she had suffered a gunshot wound. The nine-year-old died from her injuries shortly before 1 p.m.

The complaint indicates Lee provided conflicting statements about what happened on that morning. She first indicated Jelks ran to the grocery store leaving her home with the six children (ages one through ten). She said when Jelks returned home, he found Miyanna on the floor with a gunshot wound.

When Jelks was questioned by police and confronted with inconsistencies between his story and Lee’s, “Jelks came clean and admitted that both he and defendant Lee left the six children home alone.” Jelks said the two “went shopping for clothes.” Jelks also told police Lee had just purchased a 9mm Smith and Wesson the previous day.

Later, police questioned one of the children in the house, a brother. He told investigators Jelks and Lee left their home to go shopping. The complaint says while the children were left home alone, the brother went to check on Miyanna. He told police he “observed Miyanna with a gun.” The brother then took the gun from Miyanna and removed the magazine. The complaint says as Miyanna was spinning around the room, the brother “began waving the gun around.” He apparently “pulled the trigger, the gun fired, and Miyanna immediately fell to the ground.” The brother told investigators he ran after Miyanna, “tried to get her to wake up,” and then put the gun away. It was a short time later Jelks and Lee returned home. They rushed the child to the hospital.

The complaint indicates “a red gun lock was located inside the residence on top of a shoebox. Neither defendant used the gun lock to secure the 9mm.”